Method and apparatus for winding an endless tape

ABSTRACT

Tape is wound on edge on top of a turntable and is held in place against the table by equally spaced pressure pads that extend radially to restrict circumferential movement of the tape across the respective radius while permitting movement along the radius. An agitator is mounted adjacent the periphery of the turntable to contact the outer layer of the tape on each side of a pressure pad and moves in an arc while in contact with the tape toward the center of the table and in the direction of the turntable to aid in forming scallops in the tape between adjacent pressure pads. The length of tape applied to the table for each revolution thereof is controlled and is either one of two selected lengths or a length between the two selected lengths. The length is changed in response to the instantaneous length of tape between a feed mechanism and the point of application of the tape to the table. The take-off point is controlled to prevent scratching of the tape by causing a control signal to be developed when the tape is removed from outside a selected area and activating the movable roller of an accumulator in response to the control signal to move the take-off point back within the selected area.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The invention of this application is related to the invention disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,221 and in U.S. applications Ser. Nos. 844,469and 844,471 (now abandoned), both filed Oct. 21, 1977, and constitutesimprovements on the inventions disclosed therein.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to a method of and apparatus for theloading and use of turntables in the rendition of taped programs, andmore particularly in the loading and use of a single turntable on whichthe tape of a taped program is wound on in controlled lengths perrevolution of the turntable near the periphery of the turntable and offnear the center of the turntable simultaneously.

Heretofore, the tape of a taped program of the length of a movie,television show, or musical show, has been loaded on a turntable bywinding it from the center outward, thereby varying the length of tapeper revolution of the turntable directly with the radius of the winding.The outer end of the tape is led through an associated apparatus for therendition of the taped program, and out to be rewound from the centeroutward on a second turntable. When the program ends, it can be replayedfrom the second turntable back onto the first turntable. The twoturntables are required because they must turn at varying speeds todeliver and take up tape at a constant linear rate from turntablewindings of varying radii.

Also, in the prior art where one turntable has been employed, windingtape from the center of a reel through a cooperating apparatus for therendition of the taped program and peripherally rewinding it back on thesame reel has necessarily been confined to very short lengths of tapeloosely wound to allow for slippage and friction between windings due tothe reel turning several times to deliver from the center the samelengths of tape that are peripherally taken up in less than onerevolution.

A substantially improved method and apparatus for the loading and use ofa single turntable in the rendition of taped programs is disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 4,066,221 and the continuation application of theapplication of this patent, Ser. No. 844,471, filed Oct. 21, 1977, andthe continuation-in-part application Ser. No. 844,469, filed Oct. 21,1977. In the method and apparatus of this patent and applications, thetape is wound on edge on top of the single turntable and is held inplace against the table by equally spaced pressure pads that extendradially to restrict circumferential movement of the tape across therespective radius, while permitting movement along the radius. Inapplying this basic concept, it was contemplated that equal lengths oftape for each revolution of the turntable would be wound onto theturntable. However, it has been found that where a plurality of tapeshave been spliced together to make up a selected program, thecharacteristics of the individual tapes, such as thickness andstretchiness, may preclude the use of this concept of equal lengths forevery revolution of the turntable throughout the entire program.

Additionally, where many hours of film are stored on a table and thefilm is continuously removed from the inner loop and wound on at theouter loop, forces such, for example, as are caused by the spring forcesof the film on the table, may build up and cause a change in thecircumference of the tape on the table. Such forces may make itimpossible to hold the desired outer circumference of film. Furthermore,these forces may have an adverse effect on the desired symmetry of thescallops formed in the inner loops of the stored tape between adjacentradii.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To overcome the problems of the prior art including the build up offorces, encountered while using the concept of holding the tape on edgeagainst circumferential movement across selected radii while permittingmovement along the radii, a means for aiding in the formation ofscallops, and preferably substantially uniform scallops between adjacentradii, is employed. These means prevent the build up of the forces onthe table by breaking up these forces around each radii. Such a means ispositioned adjacent the outer periphery of the turntable and agitatesthe tape on each side of each selected radius as it passes by theposition of the agitator.

Additionally, or alternatively, the length of tape per revolution woundonto the turntable is controlled. One approach is to alternately apply afirst selected length per revolution for a first interval of time andthen a second selected length per revolution for a second interval oftime in response to the movement of an accumulator handling the tapepreceding the winding of the tape on the turntable. The change from onelength to the other may be gradual or nearly instantaneous.

Another approach is to apply a certain length per revolution betweenlimits in response to a closed-loop control having a control signalderived from the accumulator.

Also, variations in speed between the turntable and the renditionequipment for the taped program may be compensated for by controllingthe speed of the turntable and feed mechanism in response to thedifference in tape speed caused by the rendition equipment and thatcaused by the turntable and feed mechanism.

Additionally, the take-off point from the center of the turntable iscontrollable to prevent scratching of the tape that may occur where thetake-off point moves around to where one layer of the tape is slidingover another layer. Sensors are positioned near the center of the tableto sense movement of the tape outside a selected area. An adjustableaccumulator moves the take-off point in response to an output from thesesensors, to keep the take-off point within the selected area.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional view from top and side of a turntable ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic flow diagram of the handling of the tape that iswound on and taken off of the turntable of FIG. 1 in accordance withthis invention;

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional view of the agitator and layup roller ofthe present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the various positions of theagitator of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional view of the movable layup roller and itscontrol mechanism;

FIG. 6 is a side-elevation view of the capstan drive and two of theaccumulators of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional view showing the drive mechanism for theturntable, agitator and capstan; and

FIG. 8 is a cut-away view at the center of the turntable showing thedrive for the upper pressure-pad carrier.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As shown in FIG. 1, the tape 1 is stored on a single turntable 2 on edgebetween a plurality of pressure pads 3 and the turntable 2. Eachpressure pad 3 extends along a radius of the turntable and holds thetape against the table 2 so that the tape will not movecircumferentially across each radius but will be permitted to moveradially along each radius.

In accordance with this invention, the length of each layer of tapestored on the table is controlled to compensate for variations in thevarious parameters of the tape such as thickness, laminations andstretchiness, for example, which differ from the storage of tape in theprior art devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,221. InU.S. Pat. No. 4,066,221 the tape is stored on the table by applyingequal lengths of tape for each layer of tape stored. It should be notedthat for purposes of this application "tape" includes motion picturefilm, video tape and magnetic tape, and a "taped program" includes anytransscription thereon for rendition therefrom.

In addition to controlling the length of the tape of each layer storedon the table 2, means is provided in accordance with this invention foraiding in the formation of the scallops of the inner loops of the tapebetween the adjacent radii along which the tape is supported. The meansfor aiding in the formation of the scallops may be employedindependently of the controlling of the length of the tape stored on thetable, or may be employed in conjunction with the variation in thelength of the tape stored on the table.

As noted above, the prior art devices, and in particular the devicedisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,221, may be advantageously employedwhere there is a single configuration of tape being stored on the table.However, problems have been experienced when attempting to use thedevice disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,221 for the storing of film and,in particular, the storing of a large amount of film such as is requiredin producing a 41/2-hour movie program. It has been found that whencombining film for a lengthy program such as 41/2 hours, characteristicssuch as thickness and stretchiness of the individual lengths of film maydiffer so that in many instances it has not been possible to store acombination of film in accordance with the apparatus and methoddisclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,221.

Additionally, forces have been experienced when storing a large amountof flim, such as is required for a 41/2-hour movie program, that tend topush the film outward on the table, thereby causing an undesirablechange in the outer circumference. Also, there forces tend to distortthe scallops formed between adjacent radii associated with the means forholding the tape along the selected radii. The forces, and thus thedistortion and change, may become so great as to render the equipmentinoperable.

To overcome the problems that have been encountered, a number of thingsmay be done as shown in the schematic flow diagram of FIG. 2. Forpurposes of illustration, it will be assumed that the tape being storedon the turntable is to be employed in a movie projector and is,therefore, movie film. However, it is to be noted that the tape may beother than movie film and the apparatus employing the tape may be otherthan a movie projector.

In the flow diagram of FIG. 2, the tape 1 is stored on a turntable 2 andis held in place on edge against the turntable by radial arms 3 whichare, preferably, equally spaced. The tape 1 is removed from the centerportion of the turntable 2 and travels through an accumulator 5 to aprojector 6. The tape 1 is pulled from the table 2 by the sprocket wheel7 of the projector 6. The rendition apparatus in the form of projector 6recovers the information stored on the tape as the tape is passedthrough the projector 6. The tape is then picked up and pulled by acapstan drive 8 through a second accumulator 4. The capstan 8 operatesin cooperation with a pinch roller 9 held against the capstan 8 by aspring tension provided by a spring 10. As the turntable 2 rotates, itpulls the tape from the downward side of the capstan 8 through a thirdaccumulator 11 and past a layup roller 12 which controls the position atwhich the tape is applied to and stored on the table 2.

It has been found that in storing the tape 1 on turntable 2 on edgebetween pressure pads and the table, the circumference of the tape ismore easily controlled if the scallops between the radially extendingpressure pads are substantially uniform. Thus, to aid in the formationof the scallops and the breaking up of the forces that are inherent inthe storing of film spirally on a table, an agitator 15 is providedadjacent the turntable 2. Agitator 15 contacts the outer layer or loopof the tape 1 on either side of a radial pressure pad and adjacent tothe radial pressure pad and pushes the tape in a manner to aid in theformation of the scallops on the inner loops of the tape stored on theturntable 2 and to break up the undesired forces.

It has also been found that, independent of the agitator 15, althoughuseful in cooperation with the agitator, a movable layup roller 12 ishelpful in controlling the circumference of the tape that is stored onthe table 2. The movement of the movable layup roller 12 is controlledby movement of the accumulator 11. As schematically shown in FIG. 2, thebottom two rollers 17 and 18 of accumulator 11 move up and down and,during the travel of these rollers, an arm 19 contacts a microswitch 20or a microswitch 21. Upon contact of either of these microswitches, amotor is energized to move the movable layup roller 12 between its twolimits which are determined by the position of microswitches 22 and 23relative to an arm 24 attached to the movable layup roller 12. Theaccumulator 11 maintains a constant tension on the tape between thelayup roller 12 and the capstan 8 while taking up excess tape at theoutput of capstan 8 or feeding tape to layup roller 12 as required toefficiently and effectively store tape on the turntable 2 independent ofthe characteristics of the individual lengths of tape being stored.

The movable layup roller 12 may be substantially instantaneously movedbetween its two extreme positions or may be moved linearly between thesetwo extreme positions by use of a lead screw, such as the oneschematically shown in FIG. 2 and identified as lead screw 25.

Since the movable layup roller 12 applies the tape to the table atdifferent radii, the length of the tape per revolution of the turntable2 will vary between the two lengths established by the two extremelimits of the movable layup roller 12. Consequently, the take-off point27 from the inner loop or layer of tape will vary between two limitsalso. The take-off point 27 may be initially adjusted by adjusting themovable roller 28 of accumulator 5. Since it is possible that thetake-off point 27 may vary beyond the acceptable take-off point becauseof variations in the characteristics of the tape being stored or themechanical system employed, it is desirable to control the limits of thevariation of the take-off point. If the limits of the variation of thetake-off point 27 are not controlled, it is possible that the take-offpoint may move around to a point where the tape would be pulled againstanother layer of tape or against the inner circle 30 of the table 2, sothat it may become scratched. Consequently, microswitches 31 and 32 areprovided to establish limits for the movement of the take-off point 27.The microswitches 31 and 32 control the operation of a mechanicaldevice, such as lead screw 29 for example, that will move the movableroller 28 of accumulator 5 in a manner to keep the take-off point 27within the desired and proper area.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the method and apparatus ofstoring tape, the movement of the turntable 2, agitator 15 and capstan 8is synchronized. For this purpose a change in speed of the turntable 2also causes a change in the rotational speed of the capstan 8 and themovement of the agitator 15.

In operation the rendition equipment, such as projector 6, is notcontrolled by the operation or speed of the turntable 2 and,consequently, the speed of the tape between the rendition equipment orprojector 6 and turntable 2 may be different from the speed that existsat the output of the capstan 8. Consequently, an accumulator 4 isprovided between the capstan 8 and the rendition equipment such asprojector 6. The accumulator 4 senses the change in speed of the tape bymovement of rollers 33 and 34 which are coupled to a control elementsuch as rheostat 220. The control element 220 controls the speed of theturntable 2, capstan 8 and agitator 15 to either speed up the operationor slow it down as required by the speed of the rendition equipment suchas projector 6.

One particular embodiment of the method and apparatus for storing tapewhere the tape is movie film is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 through 7. Asshown in these FIGS., a turntable 2 for storing movie film is supportedby a structure consisting of a base 50 and a vertical column 51. Theturntable 2 is supported from vertical column 51 by an arm 52 (as shownin FIG. 7) that is welded to the vertical column 51, or otherwiseattached to the column. The turntable 2 is mounted on the arm 52 forrotation through bearings (which are not shown) supported by the arm 52.

Also attached to the vertical column 51 is a vertical plate 60 (FIG. 6)having the capstan and accumulator 11 mounted thereon. On top of theplate 60 in a horizontal position near the edge of the turntable 2 andattached to the column 51 is a table 61 (FIGS. 3 and 5) on which ismounted the movable layup roller 12 and movement control device 62. Anagitator 15 is mounted adjacent the edge of the turntable 2 byattachment to an arm 63 from the arm 52 which supports the turntable 2.As seen in the drawings, the agitator 15 is mounted near the movablelayup roller 12, although it may be mounted anywhere around theturntable 2.

Referring to FIG. 7, a motor 65 is mounted in the channel of thevertical column 51 and a pinch roller 66 is attached to a shaft 67driven by the motor 65. The pinch roller 66 engages the outer periphery68 of the turntable 2 so that the turntable 2 is driven by the motor 65.Rotation of the turntable 2 drives the agitator 15 and the capstan 8through gears and pulleys and belts, as shown in FIG. 7. In particular,there is a drive gear 69 mounted around the periphery of the column 70at the base of the turntable 2. Drive gear 69 engages a gear 71, whichdrives pulley 72. Coupled to the pulley 72 is a belt 73 that drives ashaft 74. Attached to the shaft 74 is a top pulley 75 which drives theagitator 15 through a belt 76. Belt 76 is coupled to a pulley 77 mountedon a shaft 78 supported by the agitator 15, and mounted for rotation todrive the agitator 15.

Also attached to the shaft 74 is a lower pulley 80 which is employed todrive the capstan 8. The lower pulley 80 drives a belt 81 that iscoupled to a pulley 82 mounted on a shaft 83. The shaft 83 is attachedto the backside of the vertical plate 60 by brackets 85 and 86. Suitablebearings are provided, also attached to the mounts 85 and 86, forjournaling the shaft 83. A gear 87, driven by the shaft 83, is coupledto a companion spiral gear 88 that is mounted on the shaft 90 that isattached to the capstan 8.

Thus, the main power source for the apparatus for storing film is themotor 65 which drives the turntable which, in turn, drives the capstan 8and agitator 15.

The turntable 2 also drives the pressure pads 3 and their carrier 13, asshown in FIG. 8 of the drawings. Turntable 2 has a plate 100 attached toand supported by ribs 101 on the underneath side thereof. The ribs 101are attached to and supported by a plate 102 which is attached to thecolumn 70. Passing through the column 70 is a hollow support structure103 that rests on and is attached to the arm 52. The support structure103 supports a plate 104 in the middle of the turntable 2. Attached tothe plate 104 is the circular tray 30 and a support member 105. Thesupport member 105 consists of two vertical plates 106 and 107 and acyclindrical housing 108 on the side of the plate 107. By thisconstruction, there is a hollow or open area through which the tape 1passes as it is being drawn from the table 2. At the top of the verticalplates 106 and 107 and the cylindrical housing 108 is a cover plate 110which supports a shaft 111. The shaft 111 supports the pressure-padcarrier 13 and the central hub 112 of the pressure-pad carrier 13. Thecentral hub 112 is journaled around the shaft 111 for rotation about theshaft 111 and the stationary elements in the center of the turntable 2.At the bottom of the collar 112 is a gear 113 which is driven to drivethe carrier 13 and pressure pads 3 in synchronism with the turntable 2.The gear 113 engages a gear 114 attached to a shaft 115 that is housedin the cylindrical housing 108.

At the lower end of the shaft 115 is attached a gear 117 that is drivenby a gear 118 attached to the column 70 in the central portion of theturntable 2. Through the gearing shown in FIG. 8, the turntable 2, whichis driven by the pinch roller 66, causes the gear 118 to rotate, whichcauses the gears 117 and 114 to rotate to drive the gear 113 attached tothe pressure-pad carrier 13 through its central column 112.

To break up any undesirable forces and to aid in the formation of thescallops between adjacent radii associated with the pressure pads 3, theagitator 15 operates in synchronism with the turntable 2. Agitator 15consists of a support plate 120 attached to the arm 63. The supportplate 120 supports a second support plate 121 through four posts 122through 125. On top of support plate 121 are journaled three shafts withgears attached for driving the agitator 15. A first shaft 78 has a gear130 attached thereto, which drives the other two gears 131 and 132. Gear130 is driven through shaft 78 which is coupled to the pulley 77 whichis driven by the belt 76. A third plate 134 is supported above thesecond plate 121 through vertical columns 135. Shafts 78, 128 and 129are journaled in the two support plates 121 and 134. Gear 130 drives apivot pin 140 (which may be the upper end of shaft 78) through shaft 78,and gear 132 drives a pivot pin 141 (which may be the upper end of shaft129) through shaft 129. A main bar 142 is mounted above the supportplate 134 for movement about the support plate to move into contact withthe tape on the turntable 2 as a pressure pad 3 is moving past theagitator 15.

Feet 144 and 145 which contact the tape 1 on the turntable 2 areattached to and supported by arms 146 and 147, which are attached to andcarried by the main bar 142. A first drive rod 150 is coupled betweenthe drive pin 140 and a drive pin 151 at the opposite end of the rod,with the drive pin 151 being coupled to the main bar 142. A second driverod 160 is also coupled to the main bar by a drive pin 161. The seconddrive rod 160 is driven by the drive pin 141 through the gear 132. Themovement of the agitator in contacting the tape and aiding in theformation of scallops and, while out of contact with the tape, isdiagramatically shown in FIG. 4. The path of the pivot pin 151 is shownby the dashed circle 170, while the path of the pivot pin 161 is shownby the dashed circle 171.

The agitator is so designed that the center line of the main bar 142passes through the center of the turntable 2 at all times. In this way,the force against the tape, when the agitator is in contact with thetape and moving into the tape, is toward the center of the turntable.The movement of the agitator 15 is synchronized with the rotation of theturntable 2 so that each time a pressure pad 3 passes by the agitator15, the agitator moves into contact with the tape to break up any forcesand to aid in the formation of scallops. The feet 144 and 145 of theagitator contact the tape equidistant from the radius line associatedwith the pressure pad passing by the agitator.

The movable layup roller 12 is mounted to operate between two limits.The roller 12 may be moved between these two limits linearly or in astepwise function. The movement control device 62 shown in FIG. 5 movesthe movable layup roller 12 in a linear manner between the two extremesor limits of its movement. The layup roller 12 is rotatably mounted on abar 180 that is connected to a block 181, movable along a lead screw 25.An arm 24 extends from the block 181 between two microswitches 22 and 23which control the limit of the movement of the layup roller 12. Thedistance between the microswitches 22 and 23 may be adjusted to vary thetravel of the layup roller 12, and the position of the microswitches 22and 23 may also be adjusted to vary the position of the layup rollerrelative to the center of the turntable 2.

The microswitches 22 and 23 are mounted on a block 183 which is slidablymounted on a shaft 184. The position of the block 183 is controlled by alead screw 186 that is rotatably mounted between the walls 191 and 192inside the control device 62 and which may be adjusted by a knob 190outside the walls 191 and 192.

Lead screw 25 is rotatably mounted in bearing blocks 193 and 194 andextends through bearing block 194 where it is coupled to a pulley 195.Pulley 195 is driven by a belt 196 that extends through the table 61,where it is attached to the shaft of a drive motor 198 (FIG. 7). Drivemotor 198 is attached to the vertical plate 60 below table 61 and themovement control device 62. The operation of the motor 198 is under thecontrol of microswitches 20 and 21 of the accumulator 11.

When the movable layup roller 12 is closest to the center of theturntable 2, it is applying the shortest length of tape per revolutionof the turntable and, when in the position remote from the center of theturntable, it applies the longest length of tape per revolution of theturntable. In this way, the circumference of the outer layers of tapeapplied to the turntable per revolution thereof are at a first or secondselected length. Additionally, the length per revolution may varybetween the two selected lengths if a movement control device, such asthe device 62 having the lead screw 25, is employed to move the layuproller between its two positions.

Alternatively, the layup roller may be operated in a position betweentwo limits in response to means for continuously sensing the tapeaccumulated between the capstan 8 and layup roller 12 and for providingan output signal in response to the variations in the accumulation oftape. To provide this continuous sensing, a potentiometer (not shown)may be coupled to movable rollers 17 and 18 so that the control voltagesacross the potentiometer will vary as the position of the rollers 17 and18 varies in response to the variations in the accumulation of tape.

In operation, the tape is driven by the capstan 8 in cooperation withthe pinch roller 9. The pinch roller 9 is rotatable by a shaft 200 thatextends through and is rotatably mounted on the vertical plate 60 and isconnected to an arm 201 behind the plate 60. The arm 201 isspring-loaded by a spring 10 connected between the end of the arm 201 bya screw 203 and the bottom of a control box 204. The capstan 8 moves thetape at a constant speed relative to the speed of the turntable 2. Thesystem is so adjusted that when the movable layup roller is in itsinnermost position nearest the center of the turntable 2, less tape isrequired than is being provided by the capstan 8. Consequently, theexcess tape is accumulated on the accumulator 11. The accumulator 11maintains a substantially constant tension in the tape between thecapstan 8 and the turntable 2 by the weight of the rollers 17 and 18 andtheir common carriage 14. As the layup roller applies less tape than isavailable from the capstan 8, the rollers 17 and 18 move downward toaccumulate the tape and to maintain the tension on the tape. Attached tothe carrier 14 at the back of the vertical plate 60 is a roller 210(schematically shown as arm 19 in FIG. 2) carried by a plate 211 andpositioned relative to microswitches 20 and 21 to engage the switches asthe rollers 17 and 18 move up and down with the operation of theaccumulator 11. With the layup roller 12 in its position nearest thecenter of the turntable 2, the accumulator 11 is taking up the excesstape so that the rollers 17 and 18 are moving downward along thevertical plate 60. As the rollers 17 and 18 move down, the roller 210contacts microswitch 21, which energizes the motor 198. The energizationof motor 198 causes the lead screw 25 to be turned to move the layuproller 12 from its innermost position to its outermost position relativeto the center of the turntable 2. When the layup roller 12 reaches itsoutermost position as detected by the arm 24 making contact with themicroswitch 23, the motor 198 is turned off and the layup roller remainsin this position for an interval of time.

While operating in the outermost position relative to the center of theturntable 2, the layup roller 12 applies the longest length of tape perrevolution of the turntable and feeds the tape onto the turntable at arate faster than the tape is supplied by the capstan 8. Consequently,the additional tape required by the layup roller in its outermostposition is supplied by the accumulator 11. In supplying this tape, therollers 17 and 18 move up, and the roller 210 at the back of thevertical plate 60 contacts the upper microswitch 20. When uppermicroswitch 20 is contacted, the motor 198 is again energized and thelead screw moves in the opposite direction to cause the block 181 andlayup roller 12 to move inward toward the center of the turntable 12.When the arm 24 extending from block 181 contacts the microswitch 22,the motor 198 is turned off and the layup roller remains in thisposition for an interval of time, until the rollers 17 and 18 of theaccumulator 11 move down to where the roller 210 contacts the lowermicroswitch 21 which starts the process over.

The movable rollers 33 and 34 attached to the carriage 35 (FIG. 6)control a rheostat 220 mounted on the inside of the channel of verticalcolumn 51. The slidable arm 221 of rheostat 220 is connected to thesource of the voltage (not shown) through the control box 204. One endof the rheostat 220 is connected directly to the motor 65 so that avariation in the position of the movable arm 221 causes a change in therotational speed of the motor 65 and, thus, a change in the rotationalspeed of the turntable 2. In this way the difference in tape speedcaused by the rendition equipment such as projector 6 and that caused byturntable 2 and its feed mechanism, including capstan 8, is corrected.

To keep the take-off point 27 within desired limits to preventscratching of the film, microswitches 31 and 32 are mounted on eitherside of the opening in the circular tray 30 (FIG. 1). The microswitches31 and 32 activate a motor which drives a lead screw 29 to adjustaccumulator 5 by moving roller 28 in much the same way that the closingof either microswitch 20 or 21 activates motor 198 to turn lead screw 25to move the layup roller 12. When the take-off point returns to bewithin the selected area, the microswitch is released to shut off themotor that is driving lead screw 29. A delay in shutting off the motoris included to cause the motor to slightly overdrive the lead screw 29and roller 28 to cause the take-off point 27 to be closer to the centerof the selected area. Thus, the movement of roller 28 of accumulator 5causes a change in the amount of tape between the take-off point 27 andthe rendition equipment and, thus, the desired change in the take-offpoint 27 to keep it within the selected area.

While certain features of this invention have been described in detailwith respect to various embodiments thereof, it will, of course, beapparent that other modifications can be made within the spirit andscope of this invention, and thus the appended claims should not benecessarily limited to the description of the preferred embodiment.

What is claimed is:
 1. A tape-handling unit comprising a turntable rotatable about an axis, means for holding a tape on edge against the turntable along a plurality of radii of the turntable and permitting movement of the tape radially along each radius while preventing circumferential movement of the tape across the radius, and means for agitating the tape about each radii to aid in the formation of scallops between adjacent radii of the holding means.
 2. A tape-handling unit comprising a turntable rotatable about an axis, means for holding a tape on edge against the turntable along a plurality of radii of the turntable and permitting movement of the tape radially along each radius while restricting circumferential movement of the tape across the radius, and means for aiding in the formation of scallops in the inner loops of the tape between adjacent radii of the holding means.
 3. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 2 wherein the aiding means comprises means in contact with the outer loop of the tape on each side of a holding means for pushing the tape inward on the table.
 4. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 3 wherein the aiding means further comprises means for moving the pushing means in the direction the tape is moving past the aiding means and at the same speed as the movement of the tape while the aiding means is in contact with the tape.
 5. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 2 wherein the aiding means comprises:a main bar; a first drive rod of a selected length; a second drive rod of a selected length; means for pivotally connecting a first end of the main bar to one end of the first rod; means for pivotally driving the other end of the first drive rod; means for connecting one end of the second drive rod to the main bar with a pivot rod located in a slot along the length of the longitudinal axis of the main bar; means for driving the opposite end of the second drive rod for rotational movement of the second rod in synchronism with the first drive rod; and a pair of feet symmetrically attached to the end of the main bar adjacent to the turntable.
 6. A tape-handling unit comprising a turntable rotatable about an axis, means for holding a tape on edge against the turntable along a plurality of radii of the turntable and permitting movement of the tape radially along each radius while preventing circumferential movement of the tape across the radius, thereby forming scallops in the inner loops of the tape between adjacent radii, means for agitating the tape about each radii to break up the forces present on the table from the spirally wound tape that tend to enlarge the circumference of the outer loop of the tape and that tend to distort the symmetry of the scallops.
 7. A tape-handling unit comprising:a turntable rotatable about an axis; means for holding tape on edge against the turntable along a plurality of radii of the turntable and permitting movement of the tape radially along each radius while preventing movement of the tape across the radius; a movable layup roller for applying the tape at any selected circumference of the turntable in response to a control signal; and means for generating the control signal.
 8. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 7 wherein the generating means senses the amount of tape available to the layup roller relative to a selected amount of tape.
 9. A tape-handling unit comprising a turntable rotatable about an axis, means for holding a tape on edge against the turntable along a plurality of radii of the turntable and permitting movement of the tape radially along each radius while restricting circumferential movement of the tape across the radius, and a movable layup roller for applying the tape in a first position at a first selected circumference on the table for a first interval of time, and in a second position at a second selected circumference greater than the first circumference for a second selected interval of time, and means for moving the layup roller between the two positions.
 10. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 9 further comprising a capstan drive for providing a selected length of tape to the layup roller for storage on the turntable per revolution of the turntable, and an accumulator between the capstan drive and the layup roller for taking up the excess tape when the layup roller is in its first position and for supplying tape when the layup roller is in its second position.
 11. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 10 further comprising means associated with the accumulator for sensing the travel of the accumulator between two selected positions, and means responsive to the sensing means for causing the layup roller to change position each time the accumulator reaches one of the selected positions.
 12. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 9 further comprising means associated with the turntable to provide removal of the tape from the turntable at the inner loop of the film stored on the turntable with the film being removed from the inner loop in a pre-selected area of the turntable to prevent sliding of the film upon removal, means for sensing the removal of the film outside the pre-selected area, and an accumulator responsive to the sensing means for adjusting the point of removal from the turntable.
 13. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 10 wherein the tape is a film for use in a projector which drives the tape at a speed independent of the speed of the capstan and turntable, further comprising an accumulator between the projector drive and the capstan for sensing a change in the length of the film between the projector drive and the capstan, means responsive to the accumulator for changing the speed of the turntable and capstan drive upon the sensing of a change in the length of the film between the projector and the capstan drive from a pre-selected length of film.
 14. A tape-handling unit comprising a turntable rotatable about an axis, means for holding a tape on edge against the turntable along a plurality of radii of the turntable and permitting movement of the tape radially along each radius while preventing circumferential movement of the tape across the radius, means for winding the tape on the turntable near the periphery of the turntable, means associated with the turntable to provide removal of the tape from the turntable at the inner loop of the film stored on the turntable with the film being removed from the inner loop in a pre-selected area of the turntable, the tape being removed from the turntable and wound on the turntable being joined in an off-turntable bight, means for sensing the removal of the film outside the pre-selected area, and an accumulator in the path of the off-turntable bight responsive to the sensing means for adjusting the point of removal from the turntable by adjusting the length of the off-turntable bight.
 15. Method of storing a continuous-loop tape on a turntable for repetitive winding near the outer periphery and unwinding from near the center comprising the steps of winding onto a turntable one of two selected lengths of tape per revolution of turntable and lengths between the two selected lengths, the initial and following windings being sequentially wound near the periphery of the turntable with each winding displacing radially inward the preceding windings which become increasingly curved as the lengths thereof are constricted by progressively decreasing distance from the axis of the turntable, drawing the starting end from adjacent the center of the turntable, and joining the finishing and starting ends of the tape in an off-turntable bight.
 16. A tape-handling unit comprising:a turntable rotatable about an axis; means for holding a tape on edge against the turntable along a plurality of radii of the turntable and permitting movement of the tape radially along each radius while preventing circumferential movement of the tape across the radius; means for agitating the tape about each radii to aid in the formation of scallops between adjacent radii of the holding means; a movable layup roller for applying the tape at any selected circumference of the turntable in response to a control signal; means for generating the control signal; means associated with the turntable to provide removal of the tape from the turntable at the inner loop of the film stored on the turntable with the film being removed from the inner loop in a pre-selected area of the turntable; means for sensing the removal of the film outside the pre-selected area; and an accumulator responsive to the sensing means for adjusting the point of removal from the turntable.
 17. A tape-handling unit in accordance with claim 16 further comprising:a tape-drive means for providing tape to the layup rollers wherein the control signal generating means comprises an accumulator between the movable layup roller and tape drive means; means for sensing the travel of the accumulator to a first selected position and to a second selected position; and means responsive to the sensing means for producing the control signal. 